The Creed Protocol
by phoenixforce50
Summary: Sequel to The ONI Way. The Assassins, only just recovered after Vulcan's betrayal, are stepping up their game and coming out of the shadows and leaving the Insurrection behind. And the galaxy as a whole is about to change in a big way, dark times loom ahead and nothing bodes well for Assassin or Templar. Set around Halo 5, read my first story before this one.
1. Chapter 1

**Woo! Sequel time. The ONI Way continues. This one is set around halo 5 onward, so it should be interesting. First story here** **s/10367870/1/The-ONI-Way.** **Even if it wasn't requested, I was going to do this anyway. Uni student now, so regular updates will be few and far between, sorry :(  
Not affiliated with Ubisoft, Microsoft or 343 blah blah blah...  
_**

The Creed Protocol

 **Chapter 1**

 _"Am I alive? Truly? The last thing I remember was being trapped inside_ Eden's Blade _and letting it get destroyed. Wait; that's my uncle's face."_

Jack Jiles' mental image of himself sat up and stared at the image his brain was relaying. His Uncle, Governor Jacob Jiles' face was indeed in front of him, full of hope and worry. Jack looked around the mental landscape. It still looked like the dead space within the Animus, pulsing and shifting constantly, waiting to be formed into memories. Jack could also see something else further away; an orange figure lying on the ground. Jack stood up and walked over to it. It looked very familiar…

 _The discovery of a Forerunner shield world, inhabited by a prisoner of war between the Forerunners and ancient humans. The First Civilisation, who created humanity to inherit the Mantle of Responsibility for all things, destroyed during the shift in Earth's magnetic poles after an enormous solar flare, at the exact same time the Halo array fired. The magnetic interference cancelling out the Halo weapon and preserving life on Earth. However, the shift in the poles caused its own mass destruction, nearly wiping out the First Civilisation and their humans. Vulcan, who had been captured by the Ur-Didact and forced to engineer the defeat of the First Civilisation, survived in a non-corporeal form for thousands of years, his plot to bring back his people foiled by Jack's own hands-_

Jack clutched at his head, these weren't his memories. How was he experiencing them? He looked closer at the figure and turned it over with his foot. It was Vulcan of the First Civilisation, known as the smith of the gods. He had used the Apple of Eden to interface with Jack's mind and possess him. Jack's Assassin allies saw through Vulcan's plot and forced them both into the computer systems of Vulcan's ship, _Eden's Blade_ , which was then destroyed with Jack's sabotage.

Upon closer inspection, Vulcan was definitely dead, but his form lingered in Jack's mind. His memories bleeding into Jack's.

 _"Jack! Can you hear me?"_ came a voice, echoing throughout his mind, pulling Jack back into reality.

"Ahh!" cried Jack as he sat up on a hospital bed somewhere in the Assassin's hidden base on Venezia

"Jack! I don't believe it, you're alive!" cried Governor Jiles, giving him a firm hug

"Yes Uncle, I'm alive. And Vulcan's dead. I saw him in my head."

Jiles looked at his nephew in confusion and held him at arm's length

"Are you sure? Ezio AI let me know what happened with you and him. If he's still in there-"

"He is, but he's definitely dead. It _is_ my head we're talking about. I think I'd know if he were alive inside my head."

"Actually, Mr Jiles, we'd like to run some more tests to confirm that you're mentally stable. Interfacing through the Apple could have had some unforseen side effects and we just want to make sure you're alright before you return to active duty." Said a doctor who held the Apple within a black box with wires attached to it.

"Doctor, Bentley? Wasn't it?" said Jack

"Bennet. You don't remember me? I serviced your Archon armour since the project began and monitored your vitals during your radiation treatment." Replied doctor Bennet

"Yeah, of course." Jack was confused, a lot of what was in his head didn't make sense. Doctor Bennet's tests sounded like a good idea.

"Well, I'll let you get on with it. Oh, Jack. Do you want me to let your team know you're still alive? Or at the very least your girlfriend?" asked Governor Jiles

"No, I'll do it myself. I don't think I'm going to be in here much longer." Replied Jack

"Well that remains to be seen Mr Jiles but we'll do what we can." Replied Bennet, gesturing for equipment to be brought in by the lab assistants.

Jack laid back down on the table and waited for it to be over.

Hours later, Jack was finally given the verdict.

"It appears that Vulcan's memories, but not his personality, have been transferred into your brain. You're mentally stable, but you are showing signs of the bleeding effect. We'll try using the Animus technology available to remove it. In the meantime, you can continue your usual operations but I want you to report to me after each mission for re-evaluation. Doctor's orders."

"Yes doctor Bennet." Replied Jack drily

"Alright everyone, let's break for lunch first." The assembled doctors dispersed through the doorway to the mess. Jack was about to follow them when he realised he was only wearing pants and made a detour to his quarters. When he entered the mess hall, he could see the Archons eating in silence at the table with their heads down. Jack smiled and made yet another detour and returned again. He engaged the cloak field and strode into the mess hall quietly. As he approached the table, he could hear lowered voices from the Archons.

"-was a great guy. I remember he used to be so shy and analytical. Jill had a real impact on him." Said Hank

"Yeah, meeting the love of your dreams and having sex with them would do that to anyone." Said Ben

Everyone except Julia gave a chuckle, while she blushed ever so slightly. Jack grabbed a packet of ketchup and snuck up behind Ben. When he was in position he began to pour.

"Hey, Ben, are you cut?" asked Xavier, who was sitting opposite

"No, why? Am I bleeding?" he said, checking himself.

Miranda dipped a finger in the suspiciously thick red liquid and stuck it in her mouth. Xavier made a face.

"That ain't blood. That's ketchup." She said and noticed someone in active camouflage standing behind Ben. She frowned and in the blink of an eye, she grabbed a squeezy bottle of mustard and let loose on the silhouette. Jack cried out as he was covered in mustard and deactivated the camo.

Miranda's eyes widened and she dropped the bottle, as the other Archons turned to see what she attacked.

"No way, Jack? How are you- Am I dreaming?" said Julia

"No, I'm not dead if that's what you mean. Good to see all of you made it off in one piece."

"But how? We saw your body burn in the funeral pyre two days ago." Said Ben

"No, turns out the Apple had captured my consciousness just in time when you took it. They flash-cloned my body in secret and burned it, then restored my mind to my body. Also I have Vulcan's genetic memories apparently."

"Wait, who's 'they'?" said Miranda

"Doctor Bennet's team."

"Jack, you should go see Jill; she's devastated. Right now." Said Ben, very seriously

"Yeah, I should. See you in a bit." Jack but down the ketchup and ran down to Jill's quarters.

When he got there, the door was locked. He was about to override it but thought against it. He knocked instead. Jill's voice came from within, it sounded like she had been crying a lot.

"No Miranda, I don't want to go clubbing. Just leave me alone."

Jack overrode the door controls and walked in. Jill had her back to him and was sobbing into her pillow.

"Well that's a relief, I was never very good at dancing." Said Jack

Jill looked up from her pillow and turned her head towards the door. Her hand shot out and fired an overcharge burst from her plasma glove that Jack was just able to avoid in time.

"Whoa! What the hell was that for?!"

"Are you one of those idiots from the tech lab? I already beat up one of you, don't make me do it again." Said Jill, her eyes full of hate

"No, Jill it's me, wait, tech lab? What's that about?"

Jill cocked her head and walked forward and stopped a few steps away.

"Cassandra." She said

"It's not one of the tech guys, it's really him." Said the disembodied voice of the AI that assisted Jill's research

Jill visibly brightened and threw her arms around Jack, who was almost thrown off balance by her body colliding into his.

"Oh, Jack! It's really you! I can't believe it. How did you- doesn't matter." She kissed him full on the mouth. He responded in kind and hugged her.

He broke off the kiss and looked her in the eyes; they were red from crying but full of genuine happiness.

"Now, what was that about tech guys?" asked Jack

"Those assholes used one of the holographic decoy devices to disguise themselves as you. When I saw through their prank I got so mad I broke one guy's collarbone. I thought they would try again so I was prepared."

Jack smiled, "That's my girl."

They kissed again, and Jack closed the door and pulled her down to the bed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The next morning, Jack awoke with a pounding headache. Groaning, he rolled off the bed and fell to the floor, the impact rousing him awake.

"Hmph? You awake Jack?" said Jill from the other side of the bed

"Yeah, my head's killing me."

Jill stretched and yawned, "Could be dehydration, or stress, or hunger."

"I'm going to get some breakfast. You coming?" said Jack, already dressed

"No thanks, I'm still in mourning, so I'm going to make the most of it. Missions are alright, but it's nice to just lie back and not have to fight for our lives every once in a while."

"Amen to that," Said Jack, as he pulled on a shirt. "I'll see you later. Try not to miss me too much."

Jill threw a pillow at him just as he ducked out the door.

Everyone who passed him in the hallways gawked at him as if they had seen a ghost, well, it was damn close to that. He had been technically dead for the last few days.

 _"I wonder how many people showed up at the funeral."_ Thought Jack

The mess hall was full, and his team waved him over. He sat down and light talk continued as if nothing had ever gone wrong. It was a nice transition, and Jack felt like his life was back together in one piece. After breakfast, he went down to the med lab and asked about his headache, which had only gotten worse since he woke up.

"I can give you some painkillers, but it should go away by itself in at least a few hours, a day at the most. If it hasn't, come back." Jack thanked the doctor and left for his uncle's office.

"Jack, it is good to see you're up and about again. How are you feeling?" asked Governor Jiles, who was seated at his antique desk, going through a datapad.

"Fine, aside from this headache that isn't going away. Just waiting for the painkillers to work."

"Scotch was always my preferred method when I was younger." Said Governor Jiles with a wry smile

"Wouldn't that make it worse the next day?" asked Jack

"Sometimes, but it took my mind off the pain, and anything else for a while."

"What's that you're going through?" asked Jack, indicating the datapad

"The full details of the Covenant fleet we acquired a while ago. As it happens, it wasn't actually an entire fleet; only a dozen or so ships. Four battlecruisers, a carrier, three destroyers and five frigates. Takes a while to get an entire inventory on such large ships."

"That's still a large armament, in case ONI ever try to attack us directly."

"We're working on something big, that I shouldn't really tell you about, but I think it best you know in advance. Have you ever heard of the _Storm Fortress?_ "

Jack thought for a while, "No, I haven't."

Governor Jiles stood up and turned to the cabinet against the wall that held his collection of liquor. On the top was a handcrafted model of an ancient sailing ship from the 1700's. He carefully pulled it down and placed it on his desk in front of Jack.

"This is the _Storm Fortress._ It was once a proud vessel built for the Assassins, feared throughout the Atlantic for its speed, power and durability. With this, it was thought that the Assassins would be able to take the Americas back from the Templars."

"Well, that obviously didn't happen, what went wrong?"

"One ship, the _Morrigan_ , captained by an Assassin-turned Templar by the name of Shay Patrick Cormac. Your father made this for me for my birthday a long time ago. I loved the naval warfare simulations, and having something this powerful at your command was exhilarating."

Jack knew his uncle liked to ramble, and sensed he was getting to the point, as he gathered himself for the reveal.

"Using the Engineers we have collected, and the offspring they have, manufactured, I have decided that it would be a prudent use of resources that instead of trying to man thirteen Covenant ships; a near-impossible task given how many people we currently have in our ranks, that it would be easier to instead coalesce those resources into one super-heavy hybrid dreadnought. Under the guise Project: Storm Front. With this, we can modify the ships to our physiology and use it effectively, instead of blundering around ships built for creatures twice our size and bulk." Governor Jiles paused to let this sink in, and Jack waited for the rest of the description.

"Originally, I was worried that I would be putting all of our eggs in one basket, but now is not the time to be worried about eggs. Without the support from the Insurrection, who are at an extreme low point right now, we have to make it on our own. That is also why, effective next week, we are moving our base of operations to Vesuvius. We have clearly overstayed our welcome here. I am having all non-essential personnel and construction teams moved there to expand the colony so we can accommodate everyone."

Jack felt as though his uncle had finished, so he thought it time to voice something that had been bugging him for a while now

"Uncle, do you ever get the feeling that we don't deserve all this? I mean, I just luck out and kill a Spartan, providing us with the technology to save my life from deadly radiation poisoning a few months later, then we get access to god-like weaponry which in turn gives us a whole fleet of ships for free, and an undiscovered planet to hide on. Hell, I came back from the dead!"

Governor Jiles thought about this for a long moment, before putting his model back and responding to Jack.

"Actually, yes. I do feel as though this has been too easy. Even though we have made sacrifices, they are ultimately inconsequential to the gains. And historically, whenever the Assassins have had an advantage, we have it yanked away from us by Templars and end up worse off than before. It's a miracle we survived as long as we have. I feel as though fate has bigger plans for us, that this war for survival against ONI is just a distraction, but it's a damn good distraction nonetheless. So whatever fate has in store for us will have to wait until we get through this. That's what I think."

A silence hung in the air for a few seconds

"Uncle, why are you telling me about this project of yours anyway? I'm not in construction, what do I have to do with it?"

"Since you're brought it up, you are actually required for the construction of- well, it doesn't have a name yet, but as I said; like _Infinity,_ this will be a hybrid vessel. It will combine human, Covenant and Forerunner technology much like the Shiv-class stealth ships your pioneered. They've proven quite effective in the field, and we've given you and your team credit for its conception. But we plan to use condenstone in it, and you're the only one who has influence over it. We need you to use the Apple to help build it."

"Uh, I think I can do that. Where is it now?"

"We're building it at Vesuvius. You can be on the next transport if you're up for it."

"Good. You can come with me, I'm moving off-planet soon anyway; I'm not needed here anymore."

"Alright, I'll see you then." Jack turned to leave, then stopped and turned back,

"Hey, I got a name for it."

"What?"

" _Eternity's Eclipse."_

Governor Jiles smiled, "I like it."

The next week was spent packing and organising what was to be taken and what was going to be sold to the Insurrectionists still there. There was a lot of junk that people had to get rid of for the big move, as not every member was used to living like a Spartan. Once that was done, the Assassins boarded the transport ships, and left Venezia. Very few stayed behind, at that was mostly to ensure they still had eyes and ears with ONI's enemies.

"You know, I think I'm going to miss this place." Said Miranda from the observation deck. Hank walked up behind her, "Really?" he asked, sceptical

She grinned and shook her head, dark hair bouncing. "Nah, was a crap-hole from the start. At least we got a nice new place where no-one's gonna find us."

"Yeah well, at least we had some memories."

"That's all you can ask for in our line of work. We're never safe and always hunted." Said Julia from a couch behind them. Miranda turned to reply, "The shadows are getting smaller, but at least we're making them darker."


End file.
